


Figuring it out

by ThreeStarPreath



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, I lay this at your feet from six feet away because Social Distancing, This is what it is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:22:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23258371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThreeStarPreath/pseuds/ThreeStarPreath
Summary: From a freckled tomboy to everyone's favorite chaotic gay, Emily spends 25 years figuring her shit out.
Relationships: Ashlyn Harris/Ali Krieger, Emily Sonnett/Kelley O'Hara - Relationship, Tobin Heath/Christen Press
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	Figuring it out

**Author's Note:**

> Social Distancing has me doing some Shit. Such as organizing my fridge, cleaning baseboards and deleting my fics and rewriting them. So here's attempt number two at Figuring it out! I hope y'all are staying healthy and maintaining a sense of balance and normalcy in this Wild time.

Emily sees her first kiss when she’s five years old. 

It’s after her older sister Becky’s birthday party, an event that Emily has been looking forward to for months. Purely because birthday parties in their family mean that Emily doesn’t have to take a nap and nobody is paying enough attention to stop her from eating four monster pieces of cake. 

Em had spent the blistering June Saturday trying to keep up with the eleven-year-olds in Hogwarts House robes playing Quidditch, pestering her nine-year-old sister Christen who tucked herself away in the house reading and going slice for a slice with her seven-year-old sister Julie. 

Julie passes out on their playhouse floor before finishing slice number four and Emily has never felt more triumphant with chocolate cream cheese frosting smeared all over her mouth. 

With Julie asleep and nobody else with an interest to play with her, Emily wanders around the house looking for something to do. Her Dad is living his best life as he walks around the party in his Dumbledore costume, bellowing out quotes from the book. Becky and her friends are eating it up and Emily suddenly understands her penchant for dramatics. Her mother is in the kitchen, humming along to the radio and slicing up veggies for Becky’s birthday dinner. 

“Whatcha makin’?” Emily grips the granite countertop and tries to peer above it. 

“Beck wants fajitas. What are  _ you  _ up to sweet peach?”

“Nothin’,” she swipes a green pepper and dodges the towel her mother swats at her.

“That’s never good coming from you my love. How about you go make yourself useful and get your sister from Ashlyn’s.”

Emily’s ears perk up at the suggestion. Her oldest sister Ali, thirteen and a royal pain-in-the-ass had slept over at their neighbor Ashlyn’s house the previous evening as per their Friday night tradition. Usually, Ali makes her way back by lunchtime but on the rare occasion that she doesn’t, Emily gets sent over to bring her home. It’s Em’s favorite task because Ms. Tammye gives her some sort of treat and Ali gets embarrassed that her baby sister has to retrieve her. It’s a win-win for Emily. 

“Okay, Mama! Be back soon!” 

The kindergartener bolts out the door and heads down their sleepy suburban cul-de-sac. Neighbors outside enjoying the afternoon sun on porches and in gardens wave and give Emily a holler. She shoots grins and finger guns, relishing in the attention. She’s the youngest kid on their block and everybody in their small community as a soft spot for the smallest daughter of 4453 Orchard Lane. 

Ashlyn’s house is six houses down with the Carolina blue door and a “Go Heels, Go America” flag that, as a Georgia Bulldogs community, is the center of good-natured teasing every football season. Ashlyn’s dad retaliates during basketball season with a lap around the block in his golf cart, blasting the Carolina fight song every gameday.

Before Emily can reach Ashlyn’s house, she spots Ali and Ashlyn standing together at the end of Ashlyn’s driveway. Ashlyn is telling some story rather animatedly by the way her hands are flailing around Ali’s face. Ali nods, a fond smile never leaving her face except to let out a loud laugh that Ali only reserves for Ashlyn and maybe Emily if she tries hard.

Emily is just about to call out to them, ready to ask if they could just wait there so Em can grab a cookie from Tammye, when Ali’s head surges forward and presses her lips to Ashlyn’s, effectively shutting the keeper up mid-sentence.

“KISSES SPREAD GERMS”

It takes roughly ten seconds for Ali to drop her backpack, sprint up the sidewalk and pin Emily onto the lush green grass. Ali’s breath is hot on her cheeks, smelling like Ms. Tammye’s brownies and the jealousy flares up in Emily’s stomach. She  _ loves _ those brownies and Ali with her best-friend-kissing ways robbed her of them. 

“If you say a  _ single word  _ about this to anybody, I will burn your entire Beanie Baby collection. Got it?”

Emily doesn’t say shit and goes to bed early, too scared that if she opens her mouth Ali will make good on her promise. 

She lays in bed, confused as to why Ali wouldn’t want anybody to know that she kissed Ashlyn. According to Emily’s Dad, you kiss the people you love the most no matter what they look like. Emily thinks she’d like to kiss Abby who sits next to her at school. Abby is really pretty and makes Emily laugh and Em is pretty sure she loves her because Abby is the only person, besides her sisters, that she’s shared her Dunkaroos with. 

So Emily doesn’t see what the big deal is. 

Before the kid can come to a proper conclusion, sleep overtakes her. Sleep doesn’t stay for long because their alarm clock, a collection of nature and bird sounds their Dad thought would be soothing, aggressively fills the once peaceful bedroom. 

“Whyyyyy” Julie sleepily whines from the top bunk.

It takes Emily a moment to remember why they’re being woken up at five-fifteen in the morning but when she does, excitement warms her veins and she can barely get out of bed fast enough. 

“Chelsea plays Man City” 

Em grabs her blanket, slips on her fuzzy duck socks with the grippy circles at the bottom and quietly exits her room. She pads down the hall, freezing momentarily because the deep snoring coming from Christen’s bedroom startles the shit out of her. Finally, Emily makes it to the end of the hall where she can hear Chelsea’s Liquidator being played from behind Ali and Becky’s door. The kindergartener is just about to knock when her sister’s voices drift from underneath the door frame. 

_ So you kissed Ashlyn? _

_ I know. I literally can’t believe it either.  _

_ Well, what’d she say?! Did she cry and tell you that she’s been in love with you for forever and that you guys are gonna get- _

_ Shut  _ up,  _ Becky. She didn’t say anything because Emily saw us and by the time I finished dealing with her Ash was already inside and I freaked out.  _

If Emily has learned anything from her sisters, it’s that an apology mixed in with a few tears and a slight lip tremble absolves Emily of any sin. The five-year-old whips up a watery eye and sticks her bottom lip out enough to make it believable before pushing the door open and sticking her head in. 

Becky and Ali freeze when they see Emily in the doorway. Becky smirks because she knows  _ exactly _ what Em is doing and also knows that Ali is a damn sucker for their smallest sister. 

“I’m sorry I ruined your kiss with Ashlyn Ali.”

Ali studies her for a moment, trying to keep her resolve but ultimately caves by opening her arms and inviting Emily to hop up on the bed with her. 

“It’s okay Em,” Ali presses a kiss into Emily’s hair “you didn’t know.”

“But Ali,” Emily’s brain goes into overdrive once she’s forgiven “does this mean you and Ash have to get married because Mom told me that we only kiss on the lips if you’re gonna get married.” 

“I dunno Em,” Ali shrugs, pulling up her notebook and turning the volume up on the TV “but I like her so much.”

As Ali continues to ramble on about how much she likes Ashlyn as “more than a best friend,” Emily doesn’t miss the way her big sister’s eyes light up and her voice gets really soft and sweet. It’s disgusting and tender and Emily isn’t quite sure she’s going to enjoy sappy Ali. But her sister seems to be  _ stupid happy _ so Emily can’t get too mad. 

“When you’re older you’ll get it Em, just wait” Ali concludes.

Emily thinks they’ll see about that. 


End file.
